Report
Noma: The neglected disease devastating children in northern Nigeria
Africa NewsFactual
Noma, a neglected tropical disease that disfigures and often kills malnourished children, is affecting a growing number of children in northern Nigeria, where Doctors Without Borders is providing free reconstructive surgeries. The World Health Organization estimates 140,000 cases annually with a 90% fatality rate, though data has not been updated since 1998, and a recent Lancet study recorded over 50,000 cases across 12 northern Nigerian states between 1999 and 2024. Experts attribute the disease's spread to extreme poverty, severe malnutrition and armed violence, with many children arriving for treatment too late.
